Not All Hearts Are Pure
by xIreth Calaelenx
Summary: Sportacus tried to prepare the children for the horrors that the real world had to offer. He tried to teach them right from wrong and how to stay safe. However, there are some things in the world that even he cannot prepare them for… Stephanie would learn this the hard way.
1. Not All Games Are Fun

Title: Not All Hearts Are Pure

Rating: T (it doesn't go any higher than this)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything :)

Warnings: Mild swearing, Gore (mainly one incidence of such but still quite a bit- this is in a later chapter), paedophilia (only really a theme in the first and second chapter and it doesn't get any higher than a T rating – don't worry).

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/ Angst

Summary: Sportacus tried to prepare the children for the horrors that the real world had to offer. He tried to teach them right from wrong and how to stay safe. However, there are some things in the world that even he cannot prepare them for… Stephanie would learn this the hard way.

Author's Note: This Fanfiction was an idea of mine. I loved Lazytown as a kid and this inspiration just hit me all of a sudden. There are a lot of things in the real world that children cannot be prepared for by adults just because adults don't know how to approach the subject. The extent to which the 'stranger danger' could reach could be traumatic and devastating. However, in this Fanfiction it is actually going to be given in small doses… It is still quite dark though. This mainly focuses on a very hurt Stephanie who, after experiencing the darkness in people's hearts finds it hard to regain her trust in adults again. So… I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Please drop me a review to let me know what you think about my writing :)

**Chapter 1**

**Not All Games Are Fun**

When Stephanie sensed that the man might need her help it was already almost six o'clock at night. She was due home by seven so that she could be in bed and asleep by eight minutes past eight. The man was old, he looked at least fifty years old and he was sat on a bench with his head hanging low. His long, thick beard obscured most of his face and appeared to be tangled and knotted in multiple places. He held his hands loosely together and within his grip he was holding a long, thin roll of paper that Stephanie couldn't see properly from where she was sitting.

She was lonely. Ziggy, Stingy, Pixel and Trixie had been called home by their parents because it was getting dark but Stephanie's uncle had allowed her another hour outside. Stephanie couldn't really see what the point was of her playing outside if she had no friends outside to play with though. The irony of the situation was that Stephanie wasn't very far away from her house at all. If her uncle had chosen that moment to look out of his window to check on Stephanie he may have fully well called his niece inside upon noticing the stranger. However, Uncle Milford was busy fretting about what to get for Bessie's birthday which had come around too quickly for the naturally nervous man's liking.

Stephanie didn't realise that the man probably needed help until she heard the muttered, angry whispering noises he was emitting. He fumbled around in his back pocket for something and after a couple of moments he found what looked to Stephanie like a silver case. He placed the thin roll of paper to his lips and flicked the silver case open. With a quick flick of his wrist a small orange flame emerged from the top of the silver case. The sight enchanted Stephanie as much as it repulsed her. She'd seen one of the things that the man was holding on an old TV show that her Uncle Milford had been watching. Full of curiosity she'd asked Sportacus the next day what it was and he'd wrinkled his nose and said that it was a cigarette. He explained that the man on the film was a smoker and that smoking was a bad habit that causes severe damage to your lungs, discolouration to your finger nails and rots your teeth. The thought disgusted Stephanie. Why would you spend your money on something that was just going to end up killing you in the end?

As Stephanie watched the man's shoulders hunch over as he inhaled the smoke and saw the way that the man's trousers were ripped and soiled by mud stains she couldn't help but wonder if the man cared that he was hurting his body. The torn jumper he was wearing looked torn and dirty, as if he'd dragged it repeatedly through the mud. As Stephanie had only had a second to glance at the man's dark green eyes she couldn't tell if the man was crying or not. She hoped he wasn't. Stephanie had learned from Sportacus that she shouldn't allow anyone in Lazytown to be unhappy if she could help it. She'd sworn to herself that she would take care of anyone who was sad, lonely, afraid or in danger. That was the superhero vow. There was a little part of Stephanie that she had entitled Sporta-Stephanie that wouldn't allow her to go home without making sure that the strange man was okay.

"E-Excuse me?" Stephanie said, trying to sound brave. Although the pink-haired girl was naturally self-assured she'd never been very comfortable around grown-ups that she didn't recognise. The man looked up at her slowly, a tired expression in his green cat-like eyes. Stephanie expected him to say something but was surprised when the man remained completely silent and instead just looked at her with a scrutinising expression, like he was very bored.

Stephanie felt increasingly vulnerable. Not the type of vulnerable that you feel when you're nervous and about to go on stage but a different type of vulnerable. She felt strangely isolated and uncomfortable although she couldn't pin-point why she felt that way.

"You do know that smoking is really bad for you, right?" Stephanie asked sounding far more confident than she felt. She placed her hands on her hips and tried to appear like a grown up so that she'd have as much authority as she could against a man who was clearly many years her superior. The man simply glanced at her and dropped his cigarette to the ground. The smoke rose in front of Stephanie's face, floating through the air softly. The man leaned forward and placed his huge boot over the cigarette and crushed it into the dirt until there wasn't even a flicker of flame left. Stephanie was increasingly unnerved by the way that the man didn't once turn away from her while he was doing this and kept his eyes locked with hers.

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice rough like it was being dragged across sandpaper.

"It's Stephanie," Stephanie said, trust echoing in her tone. The man was a grown up. It was natural for her to feel nervous but he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

"Pretty name," the man commented dryly. "How old are you?"

"I'm eleven," Stephanie said, backing up slightly at the random nature of the question. The man nodded slightly with an odd look in his eyes that Stephanie couldn't name. Something had changed in the atmosphere around her and suddenly the air around her felt thicker and heavier as if she was breathing through layers of thick smoke. Stephanie wondered if her Uncle was watching her to see where she was. She hoped he was.

"Are you lost?" Stephanie asked, trying to stay calm.

"No," the man answered calmly, a slight sneer on his face. "I know exactly where I am."

"I- I think I need to go home," Stephanie stammered backing away slightly. "It's pretty dark."

The man looked her up and down, a slight frown playing on his lips now. "No, don't go. Sit with me for a bit."

"I'm not sure I should…" Stephanie stumbled, but the authority of the man's age had her rooted to the spot.

"Come here, I'm not going to hurt you," the man said, reaching out to grab her arm and pull her to the seat next to him. Stephanie's world spun slightly as she was pulled to the bench and forced to sit down beside the man. She watched the trees around her sway in the slight breeze as the lights from the houses danced in and out of focus. The red light of the sun was fading overhead, bleeding across the sky as if they were veins stretching out across skin.

Stephanie watched the lights of the houses and wished for a moment that she was sitting inside with her uncle, eating her supper and laughing about the game of basketball she'd played with Ziggy that afternoon. She knew she could run. But the man's attitude had surprised her. Maybe he really meant her no harm. He'd said that he wasn't going to hurt her so she was probably only being paranoid… Her uncle said to her once that she was quite an untrusting person and Sportacus had always taught her to give people the benefit of the doubt before she judged them. Maybe he could be a new friend…

Stephanie jumped, however as she felt a slight tugging on her hair. She turned to look and was surprised to see the man playing with strands of her pink hair and wrapping it around his fingers. Stephanie felt something rising at the back of her throat and suddenly her breath caught in her throat. The feeling was not at all pleasant. In fact it felt icky. She felt like a thousand spiders were crawling up her spine at the same time. She moved to stand up and pull away but something dark in the man's eyes made her wonder if that was such a good idea. She knew the man was about three times the size of her and she was worried that he'd catch her quite easily and he might hurt her if she made him angry. The man smelled of cigarette smoke and something sweeter, almost like candy. It turned her stomach.

Maybe he was upset? Maybe he wanted a friend? Stephanie couldn't understand why he was petting her hair like she was a dog but she figured that there was probably a valid explanation.

"You have very pretty hair," the man commented leaning closer. "My name's Graham by the way."

The way that he whispered that in her ear reminded Stephanie very much of the snake from the Jungle Book that Bessie had read to her and the kids one day. His breath felt warm against her ear but instead of filling her with comfort the voice made her feel uncomfortable and fidgety.

"You and the other kids like playing games right?" the man asked, tugging Stephanie back by the hair slightly. She guessed that this was probably an accident and that he hadn't realised that it hurt her neck a bit.

"Yes," Stephanie answered obediently, remembering the story she'd been desperate to tell her uncle when she got home. "Me and Ziggy were playing basketball earlier in the park. He kept on missing because he's so small so… So I picked him up to help him score."

Stephanie bit her bottom lip and felt something hot rising in her eyes that felt like tears. She didn't understand what was wrong. Why did she feel so bad when nothing was happening? Why did she so desperately wish her friends were around? The man leaned closer and Stephanie turned away so that her eyes were focused on the twisting branches of the tree nearest to her and so that she could ignore the proximity between her and Graham.

"I let him win… I mean, I couldn't not when I saw the happy smile on his face," Stephanie murmured.

"Do you want to help me be happy too?" Graham asked softly and almost gently. Stephanie gave him a slightly confused look, forgetting about her nervousness for a second.

"Of course…" she said softly. "I want everyone in Lazy Town to be happy. I want everyone in the whole world to be happy."

"Well, can we play a game then?" he asked.

Stephanie glanced at him and nodded. "What game?" she asked hoping that once the man was happy he'd leave her alone. She just wanted to go home.

"A hiding game," the man said his voice taking a different tone; a more dangerous tone. "I say we hide over there in those bushes and imagine that there's a huge monster coming after us."

Stephanie didn't know why but something about that suggestion seemed off. She noticed a change in his voice and mannerisms that she didn't like and that she didn't trust. She didn't want to be there anymore. This was wrong.

"No," she shouted, realising that this man wasn't someone to be trusted. She stood upright and pulled against the man's arm, grimacing as his grip on her hair tightened and he was literally tugging on her hair.

"Stay still!" Graham yelled against her struggles.

"I wanna go home!" Stephanie cried, tears flowing down her pale face, illuminated by the fading lights of the daytime.

Her cries seemed to echo across the empty park and she wished dearly that someone was close enough to hear them. However, as her cries spiralled away, somewhere up ahead in Sportacus' airship his crystal began to glow.

**Author's Note: So yeah… I'm going to end the first chapter here. Please drop me a review to let me know what you think and if I should continue. I actually have a couple more Lazytown Fanfiction but I'm not focusing on them as much at the moment. Please review! ** x


	2. Concealed in the Shadows

**Disclaimer: I do not own LazyTown.**

**Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! I loved the response to the last chapter! You're all amazing. And in reply to Bleach4Soul's review. Don't worry :) This is as bad as it gets with the paedophilia theme. The rest is only in mentioning or very heavily glossed over. However, there will be a few more dark themes later on. I will leave them as a surprise though... I wouldn't want to ruin the ending for you guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think! Reviews do inspire me to write quicker. Love you guys x **

**Chapter 2**

**Concealed in the Shadows**

The glowing of his crystal was insistent and it immediately broke Sportacus out of his stupor.

"Someone's in trouble!"

The superhero was tired. It was almost time for him to fall asleep. However, he knew that trouble could strike at any hour and so he was always prepared for a late night trip to LazyTown. Sportacus yawned once and then stood up from his position beside his bed. He flipped towards the exit of his airship attempting to limber up his muscles and wake himself up so that he'd have enough energy to deal with whatever the problem was.

"Door!" Sportacus shouted and immediately the door to his airship slid open. He figured that it was too dark to use his binoculars to spy down on LazyTown to locate the danger and so he simply squinted in the semi-darkness. Sportacus was almost surprised when he saw how quiet and peaceful the town looked from where he was perched on the door to his airship. He couldn't imagine anything going wrong in such a tranquil setting. However, the glowing of his crystal was vibrant, loud and not to be disputed with. Someone was in trouble and it was Sportacus' job to make sure that that person was safe.

Sportacus looked up at the sky and was surprised to see clouds gathering. He supposed that a storm was coming... He'd have to be fast to make sure that whoever needed his help was okay. It was getting late and, especially if it was a child, whoever it was would have to be in bed soon. The Superhero quickly prepared himself for a late night as he saw the digital watch Pixel had given him as a birthday present flick from 8:08 to 8:09.

xxx

Mayor Meanswell was busy in his living room. He'd tidied all of his paperwork, he'd cleaned all the rooms and he'd even alphabetically ordered his phone book and bookshelf... All while trying to think of an idea for Bessie's birthday present. So far he hadn't been victorious. He knew that Bessie loved cake but he didn't want to embarrass himself by getting her the same present two years in a row. He figured that the naturally hot-headed woman wouldn't be thankful for his lack of imagination. Even though her fiery personality had been what attracted Mayor Meanswell to her in the first place he had to admit that sometimes the knowledge of it didn't do much for his nerves.

He tried to picture what he himself would imagine the perfect present being. Maybe a book? Or maybe Bessie would like a new calculator? Groaning upon realising that he and Mrs Busybody were two completely different people and that there was no way that she would like what he did Mayor Meanswell settled for collapsing heavily in his sofa with an exhausted sigh. He knew that he should have called Stephanie inside five minutes ago but he figured that a few more minutes couldn't hurt. Stephanie was growing up and even though it pained him to admit that he'd have to allow her to grow up he knew that it had to happen. Stephanie was a spirited young girl and he trusted her to be careful and safe at all times. After all, he was the Mayor and he was safe in the knowledge that he could call on the resident superhero if ever his niece was upset or hurt. While the town had Sportacus to look after them he would never be concerned for his niece's well-being.

He supposed in a way it should be him in charge of dealing with his niece's emotional well-being but Mayor Meanswell had never been very good at dealing with other people's emotions and he liked to think that Sportacus was a lot more experienced and simply a lot better than he was at it. What were superhero's for if not to help people after all? Mayor Meanswell could only do so much good in his town without a little bit of help. He liked to think that as long as he had Sportacus looking down on LazyTown from his airship nothing would go wrong. At least nothing seriously wrong. Sure the kids often got a couple of minor cuts and bruises but Sportacus would always know exactly how to deal with that. Since Sportacus arrived Milford Meanswell had learned the importance of stocking up with first aid supplies.

Sometimes Milford wondered how Stephanie and her friends kept themselves so busy playing out but then he remembered back when he was a young boy. His parents were always busy, his father being he mayor of LazyTown before him, and his mother being a very dedicated writer. His brother, Stephanie's father, was a few years older than him and so would often play with children from his year at school. Mayor Meanswell and his brother had always gotten along well but had rarely played together outside of the house. Usually Stephanie's father would be in his room playing board games with his friends or across the street visiting his friends houses and having sleepovers. Milford was always the one of the two boys who was more likely to be playing outside. Due to his nervous nature this wasn't always an easy feat. However, Milford had always had two best friends who lived close by him and would increase his confidence. The three of them would spend their time visiting the old sweetshop just outside of LazyTown or playing on the field beside Milford's old house. Milford saw a similar thing occurring with Stephanie and her friends. When she was playing with them, his niece would have a confidence boost that would match his own back when he was a child. Sometimes he felt that he and his niece were incredibly similar... And in some ways she was more brave and ambitious than he would ever be.

Milford wondered if Stephanie liked Bessie as much as he did. He wasn't sure how long he would be looking after Stephanie but he occasionally wondered if Stephanie would accept Bessie as a new member of the family. The two had never experienced any arguments, but sometimes Milford worried if he was making the right decisions concerning his niece. He loved her dearly and wouldn't like to do anything to upset her. But of course... If Stephanie was upset she would tell Sportacus and he would be able to deal with it. Wouldn't he?

Either way he was sure he'd be calling Stephanie in soon. It was getting dark and he could see clouds forming overhead. He'd just give her a few more minutes.

xxx

"Let me go!" Stephanie cried, pulling away with all of her might, trying to ignore the pain that the action caused. Stephanie reached backwards towards Graham who was tightly gripping her pink hair and tried to dislodge his arm by digging her nails in and scratching at his skin. The man cursed violently and placed his other hand over Stephanie's mouth, pulling her firmly into his lap and forcibly holding her mouth shut.

"What the hell do you think you're doing screaming like that?" Graham muttered yanking her hair backwards in warning, ignoring the muffled, pain-filled whimper the action caused. "I thought you wanted to help me? Do you want everyone in the town to hear you screaming like that?"

The grip on her mouth was tight and Stephanie was almost worried that Graham's fingers would cause bruises on her jaw. One thing was certain to the girl... Graham was worse than Robbie Rotten could ever be. She had stupidly gotten herself into a bad situation and against the man's superior strength she had very little chance of escape. She felt horribly warm in his grasp and realised in horror that Graham was sweating with the effort of keeping her still. She thrashed her arms and her legs even more but he held tight, his face flushing red from the effort. His breath smelled strongly of the nicotine from the cigarettes and Stephanie could practically feel the smell crawling its way into her clothes. Graham removed his hand from her hair and placed it around her waist, pulling her even closer. Stephanie hated how close the proximity between her and Graham had become. Her breathing quickened and dark spots danced around her vision so much so that she felt as if she was going to collapse.

"No one's going to hear you. You better give up," Graham said urgently. When Stephanie showed no signs of calming down Graham decided to resort to gentler tactics. He reached down and patted the girls leg, undeterred when she grimaced and shivered in disgust.

"Look... I don't want to scare you. I just wanted to play a game that's all- Ow!" Graham shouted as Stephanie bit down on his hand with all her might. Graham pulled his arm away and watched as a bead of blood welled from his skin. His face suddenly contorted; changing from composed to an almost animalistic snarl. While Graham tried to get his head around what happened, Stephanie sensed the sudden danger and quickly the terrified girl kicked out, catching the man on his shin.

"You little witch!" Graham yelled, clutching his leg.

Stephanie didn't wait to see his reaction and, freed, she ran for her life. It didn't take her a while to realise that she was running away from the direction of her uncle's house but she didn't care. As long as she was heading away from that monster she didn't care. She felt like she was dreaming... She wanted to believe that it was all a nightmare. These things shouldn't happen in real life. Stephanie didn't completely understand what had happened. She just understood that the man was a very bad man and that she was right to escape from him when she did. She wasn't sure what would have happened had she not escaped but she could tell that it wouldn't have been good. Her instinct told her to run as far and as fast from the scene as she could.

xxx

Mayor Meanswell stepped out of his front door. He'd seen the dark clouds take over the sky and had decided that it time for his niece to come in and into bed. He'd originally planned to knock on the window to signal Stephanie to come inside, but had become slightly confused to see that Stephanie wasn't where she initially had been playing earlier. He figured that Stephanie was probably playing further into the park and had simply been so engrossed in whatever game she had been playing that she hadn't seen the weather change.

He could feel the first drops of rain hitting his coat as he walked across the grass of his front lawn and the wind quickened. He had to tuck his arms under his coat to keep them warm. The sky had turned dark very quickly and he could see that it was almost pitch black outside. The street-lights were the only thing supplying much-needed light to the town, the stars being obscured by the thick and heavy clouds indicating an imminent storm.

He quickened his steps feeling an odd feeling or worry settle in his chest. Usually when Stephanie saw any signs of it getting dark she'd be inside in a flash. Even though Stephanie wasn't as nervous as the likes of him or Ziggy when it came to the dark, Mayor Meanswell knew that she couldn't stand being alone in the dark. That was one of the reasons why Stephanie still slept with a night light sometimes. The young girl often acted older than she was but she couldn't stand the dark and cold alone.

When Mayor Meanswell entered the park however, he was both shocked and concerned to notice that it was completely empty and devoid of life. In the vague light of the street-light Milford could have sworn that for a second he saw a dark shadow rush past but he passed that off as his imagination. He couldn't be concerned for small things like that... His niece was missing!

"Mayor!" a voice yelled over the wind. Milford almost jumped out of his skin but relaxed immediately when he saw Sportacus emerge from the shadows.

"Oh Sportacus! You scared me!" Mayor Meanswell gasped, heart still racing despite how reassuring it was to see the superhero. After a second however, Milford's thoughts caught up to him and an icy feeling of dread clouded his senses. If Sportacus was down from his airship at such a late hour then it meant that someone was in trouble! What if that person was Stephanie?

"I'm sorry. Are you okay? My crystal was going crazy," Sportacus explained.

"Yes I'm okay..." Mayor Meanswell said, panic quickly coving his features. "But Sportacus... Stephanie hasn't come home yet! I left her outside for a little bit longer than usual and she promised me that she would stay in the park where I could see her. But now I've come outside and she's not here! Do you think she's gone to play somewhere else?"

A look of doubt covered Sportacus' face. "I don't think Stephanie would break a promise Mayor... And she definitely shouldn't be out during this storm."

"Oh my!" Milford shouted, his hands covering his mouth. "You don't think something could have happened to her?"

Sportacus felt slightly panicked himself but quickly placed his hand on the other man's shoulder comfortingly.

"She'll be fine Mayor. Go home and wait there in case she goes back. I'll find her."

Mayor Meanswell looked for a second as if he was going to argue, so caught in the grip of panic, but he quickly thought better of it. He looked down at his shoes and tried to force his voice not to break.

"All right Sportacus... I guess I better go back then. But... Promise me you'll get her back safe?"

"I swear on my life Mayor," Sportacus said, placing his hand over his heart. "Stephanie will be back home and safe soon."

Milford nodded and walked back to his house, trying to steady his rapidly out of control thoughts. He was sure in that moment that every single negative scenario in the world rushed through his mind like he was on a roller-coaster. What if Sportacus couldn't find Stephanie? What would he tell Stephanie's mother? What would he tell his brother?

No.

Sportacus had never let him down before. Mayor Meanswell had to believe that he wouldn't this time.

Sportacus turned away from his position watching the mayor's retreating form and sighed. He really didn't like the look of the weather... He'd never be happy for the children to be left vulnerable and outside at night... But this night looked like it was going to be an especially bad one. Stephanie was just a little girl. Sportacus knew with certainty that he'd never forgive himself if anything happen to her. She was a friend. He couldn't let a friend get hurt.

"Stephanie!" Sportacus yelled as he began his search in the dark.

**Thank you! Please review!x**


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